Commissioner Honors Local Volunteers

	Pictured above (l to r): Boynton Beach Commissioner Bill Orlove, Boynton Beach Vice Mayor Marlene Ross, Ocean Ridge Vice Mayor Dr. Lynn Allison, Commissioner Abrams, Sand Sifters founder Gary Solomon (rear) and volunteers including Brownie Troop 21056 from Boca Raton.

On Saturday, May 1, Commissioner Abrams joined other local officials in presenting the Sand Sifters’ volunteers with a proclamation declaring the month of May 2010 as Sand Sifters Appreciation Month at Oceanfront Park in Ocean Ridge.

“I was pleased to have the opportunity to honor all of the Sand Sifters’ volunteers for their dedication and hard work,” said Abrams.  “It is inspiring to meet the people working behind the scenes keeping our beaches and parks clean.”  Abrams added, “We need only look at events in the Gulf of Mexico right now to realize how important our beach ecology is.”

The Sand Sifters, now in its fifth year, is a group of over 1,000 volunteers who regularly participate in beach and park cleanups.  It is estimated that these volunteers save local municipal and county budgets hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax dollars since they help relieve workers from picking up litter.

The event took place in conjunction with “Earth Day 40” sponsored by the City of Boynton Beach.  Also, there were representatives from the Community Caring Center of Boynton Beach who collected nonperishable food items such as peanut butter, jelly, rice, pasta and canned vegetables.

The following is contact information for the organizations mentioned above:
Sand Sifters: 561-734-9128
Boynton Beach Community Care Center:  561-364-9501